There are way too many people that suffer from sleep disorders in the western world. Why? This is because of various health disorders and lifestyle glitches we have adopted. Sleep disorders go untreated because they go undetected. Here we will touch on what you can do to effectively identify sleep disorders so that treatment can be received.
How to identify sleep disorders:
One of the most helpful ways you can detect a sleep disorder is to keep a sleep journal. There is a pattern that those with sleep disorders have that can only be detected through careful vigilance for at least a month.
How to use a sleep journal:
To get a handle on whether or not you can detect a sleep disorder you need to take a careful look at your patterns and physical symptoms throughout the day. You don’t need to carry around a notebook with you everywhere—you only need to jot down how you feel in the daytime while you go about your routine. However, keeping a journal by the bedside and in the morning will be the main look at what you did all night.
What you should be looking for:
If you toss and turn at night and awaken after no more than two to three hours sleep at a time—this is not a good sign. If you awaken gasping or snoring or if you have a partner that says you snore—this is also not a good sign. These are key signs that you may have a disorder called sleep apnea which if left untreated for a long period of time can be dangerous. It means you could have moments where you stop breathing in your sleep and could need the aid of a CPap machine.
The other sign you could have a sleep disorder is if you are sleeping yet you are waking up tired and stay tired all day. Try to note if you have brain fog and find it hard to concentrate at work or school. This can help you identify sleeping disorders quite easily.
The most common sleep disorder reported is insomnia which is marked by falling asleep—waking and the inability to fall back to sleep or just not falling asleep either at all or not until wee hours of the morning like 3 or 4 a.m. This is when your natural clock resets and you hit a wall and finally fall asleep.
Take your sleep journal to your physician and they will schedule time in a sleep lab after which proper treatment can be administered.
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